Days after 'Kremlin attack', Russia claims to prevent Ukrainian drone attack in Ivanovo

Amid the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, Russian Security Services on Sunday claimed to thwart a Ukrainian Drone attack on a Russian airfield. The Ukrainian drone attack was averted after the Russian Security Service prevented the drone from flying over the airfield in Russia’s Ivanovo Region, Sputnik reported.

The incident happened days after two Ukrainian drones struck the Kremlin, the official residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Sputnik, Moscow has faced a succession of Ukrainian drone attacks over the past year. Earlier this year, Russia suspected that Kyiv’s Western patrons have “direct involvement” in these frequent drone attacks.

"[The services] thwarted an attempt to carry out a sabotage and terrorist act planned by Ukrainian military intelligence at the Severny military airfield in Ivanovo Region using drones stuffed with explosives," the Federal Security Service (FSB) asserted in a press statement on Sunday, Sputnik reported. It further said that the Ukrainian drone attempted to target Russia’s fleet of Beriev A-50. The sabotage attempt was prevented after the Russian authorities detained a sabotage group tasked with carrying out the attack.

Explosive devices were to be transferred across the border

According to Sputnik, the authorities stated that the improvised explosive devices that were used in the attack were to be transferred across the border between Ukraine and Russia. The devices were boarding a light-engine Aeroprakt-A 32 aircraft and were flying out of a village in Chernigov Region. After the ultralight aircraft was detected, the plane’s pilot and members of the diversionary group were detained after landing in the Russian region of Tula. As per the Russian news outlet, the region is located in the south of Moscow and the aircraft landed there to transfer weapons from the border. Following the incident, FSB launched an investigation and initiated a manhunt to find more members of the group which was involved in the sabotage.